British manufacturing was given a boost after AirAsia placed an order for 100
Airbus aircraft, the wings for which will be made in the UK, safeguarding
around 9,000 jobs.

Asia’s largest low-cost airline will buy a further 64 A320neo and 36 A320ceo aircraft, taking AirAsia’s total A320 orders to 475 and making it the aircraft’s largest customer in the world.

The contract was announced at the Airbus wing assembly plant in Broughton, North Wales. David Cameron joined AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes for a tour of the facility on Thursday.

The Prime Minister said the order was “a tremendous boost for the workforce and for UK manufacturing”.

He added: “[The] announcement demonstrates the strength of the UK aerospace sector and the important role it plays in growing and rebalancing our economy.

“This Government will continue to back UK aerospace; cutting business taxes, investing in exports and working in partnership with the industry to ensure it is fully equipped to compete and thrive in the global race.”

It is the latest example of the Prime Minister’s willingness to directly lend his support to Britain’s aerospace and defence industries.

Last month, during a three-day visit to the Middle East, he promoted the Eurofighter Typhoon programme – a partnership between Britain’s BAE Systems, Airbus owner EADS, and Finmeccanica – to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

During the visit Britain and the UAE announced a formal defence and industrial partnership, involving “close collaboration around Typhoon and a number of new technologies”.

Tom Williams, executive vice-president programmes and senior UK representative for Airbus, said yesterday that the latest order from AirAsia was a “huge boost” for its teams in Broughton.

“We must not underestimate the importance of aerospace engineering and manufacturing in the UK which is highly skilled and high value work, as demonstrated by the important role we play in providing a significant contribution to Airbus commercial airliners.”

Airbus said the order would sustain 1,500 jobs in the UK as well as a further 7,500 in the extended supply chain.

More than 100 A320s have already been delivered to AirAsia and are in operation flying out of its bases in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila and Tokyo.